01-24-2012, 01:22 PM
yocan Wrote:The best shot I know told me not to use a brass cleaning rod because stuff can get embedded in it and scratch up the barrel. A steel rod might do more damage slowly over time but one bad time with a brass rod can ruin your barrel.
I have steel rods, I have otis kits with the rubber coated cables, I have bore snakes. I'm getting the best barrel I've ever had on friday in the mail and I really don't want to mess it up. Also heard of using bore snakes with removing the brass bristles, seems like a sound idea to me (will the brass weight damage the barrel seeing as its not under force going through?) BTW this barrel comes with a guide to put a rod through the barrel without ever touching the barel, but still raises the question of what tip to use if thats better then a de brassed bore snake.
So basic questions, what should I use to clean the barrel out chemically and physically. Will militec cause advanced wear on the lugs messing up the mating (heard that we are not supposed to use militec now in the military due to advanced wear) if so what would be a good go to, I'd like to not use clip if practical I hate the stuff. If militec is fine I have bottles of the stuff.
Yocan:
Just remember that barrels are expendable items. You will wear out the barrel just like you do a car.
'Breaking in' a barrel is a myth. There is no evidence to suggest that the tedious and very costly process guys go through when they 'break in' the barrel, does anything but spend their money. So, when you get your new barrel on your upper, clean it then shoot it as you normally would and clean it after shooting as you normally would.
Most guys use coated one piece rods with wrap around jags for patches and bronze bore brushes. Shooters Choice and Hoppies are common solvents. In a pinch, Simple Green or any household cleaner will do. Sweets 7.62 copper remover works better than other copper removers. GI bore brushes, tooth brushes, and GI cleaning patches are good things to get. A bore guide is a very good idea and get a derlon guide that is made for the specific cartridge. The universal / one size and adjustable guides will not work and are prone to breaking.
Wet patch the bore with two or three wet patches. Put your finger over the muzzle and work the wet patch up and back. It is a myth that pulling the patch back through the barrel destroys the barrel. Your finger will keep the jag from leaving the barrel as those jags are rough on the outside to hold the patches and they can damage the crown like a file.
I will put some solvent on a GI bore brush and run it totally through the bore and back five or six times. The brushes will not file your crown like a wrap around jag can. Then clean the brush with the cheapest carb or brake cleaner you can buy. The solvent will dissolve the brush and keeping the brush clean means it lasts a season.
Then I will push a wet patch completely through the bore (pushing out all the crud) and remove the patch before carefully pulling the jag back through the barrel. Some remove the jag before pulling the rod back. I will do this two or three times and then dry patch the bore.
Use some Sweets to remove any copper periodically. Follow the directions.
It also pays to run some JB bore paste through the barrel once every five hundred rounds or so. That stuff is a very fine polishing compound but the barrel must be free of carbon and copper for it to perform to its potential maximum.
I clean 6mm barrels after a match or at about 100 rounds fired. 5.56, 6.5's and .308's -- about every three or four hundred rounds. It seems like the 6mm needs more cleaning for it to do well.
I also bore snake sometimes between cleanings if I think the bore needs something. No need to remove those bristles -- no doubt another myth like the old one that a bore brush run one time through a barrel equals the wear of 100 rounds fired.
Take care with the barrel but I think most guys damage them by excessive cleaning under the misguided and completely illogical notion that somehow keeping them clean means they will last longer.
LR1955